I'm trying to bake a cookie without any saturated fat - margarine, butter, and shortening. I tried substituting canola oil for butter, and the cookie crumbled. Are there any other substitutes available? Thanks.

I'm trying to avoid saturated fat because saturated fat is pro-inflammatory, which will elevate one's CRP (C-Reactive Protein). Instead of sugar, a natural sweetner called stevia will be used. Stevia has no calories and no adverse health risks.

I'd rather have one really good cookie than a box of mediocre cookies. But hey, do what you want.

As for the stevia, dropping all the sugar is also likely having an effect on your cookies. I also feel that I should point out that stevia is not considered to have "no adverse health risks". It's banned for use as a food additive in the EU, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and other countries as well. Oh yeah, it's also banned for use as a food additive in the US. It's approved only as a dietary supplement, which means very low doses. Use as a food additive results in pretty high doses, and is not considered safe. Even some proponents of the plant say that extracts may not be safe, and that the plant should be consumed whole.

I'm not arguing whether it's safe or unsafe, but numerous governments around the world have decided that they can't call stevia safe without more evidence. I think it's a little unfounded to argue that it's without health risks.

Good luck with your cookies, though. Hopefully you'll find the combination of ingredients you need to make them tasty.

Every ingredient serves multiple functions in a baking recipe. The sugar creates bulk, crispness, sweetness, and the pretty brown color. The butter/shortening creates a moist mouthfeel, a delicate crumb, and improved keeping qualities. You could probably get away with subbing one, but without the sugar you really need the fat to pick up the proverbial slack.

substituting anything in a cookie recipe can lead to unpredictable results! As was stated above, each ingredient has a specific function in the recipe. The recipe for a great cookie recipe is really a FORMULA as baking is chemistry with correct technique. Lets call a spade a spade here...there is NO good substitute (similar texture and flavor) for butter fat or sugar. If you stray from these then what you really want is an alternative which is no longer similar texture and flavor. So don't try to make the real cookie with these alternatives....make something new and dont try to compare the flavor and texture to a classic fat loaded and refined sugar bomb!

[quote="gourmetfan"]I'm trying to avoid saturated fat because saturated fat is pro-inflammatory, which will elevate one's CRP (C-Reactive Protein). Instead of sugar, a natural sweetner called stevia will be used. Stevia has no calories and no adverse health risks.[/quote]

Stevia definitely tastes less like sugar to me than cyclamates (legal in Canada and illegal in the US because it causes cancer in lab mice), saccharin-Sweet n Low (legal in the US and illegal in Canada becauses it causes cancer in lab mice --same study, different interpretation by different governments!!!), aspartame (equal/nutrasweet), or sucralose (Splenda).

The statement that stevia has no untoward health effects is open to some question. Health effects of the others have been argued since their introduction. A European health study found that stevioside depressed the virility of male mice. It has also been reported that steviol, one of the principal metabolites of stevioside, is a mutagen. Based on these findings, the European Commission banned stevia's use in food in the European Union pending further research. It is also banned in Singapore and Hong Kong. Additional animal tests have shown mixed results in terms of toxicology and adverse effects of stevia extract. The Whole Foods Markets have removed Stevia from their organic espresso bar, and now offer only white or brown sugar. When I go, I bring my own splenda!

The history of artificial sweeteners is interesting. Like many artificial sweeteners, the sweetness of cyclamates was discovered by accident. Michael Sveda was working in the lab on the synthesis of anti-fever medication. He put his cigarette down on the lab bench and when he put it back in his mouth he discovered the sweet taste of cyclamate. The patent for cyclamate was purchased by DuPont but later sold to Abbott Laboratories which undertook the necessary studies and submitted a New Drug Application in 1950. Abbott intended to use cyclamate to mask the bitterness of certain drugs such as antibiotics and pentobarbital. Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter, a chemist working for G.D. Searle & Company. Schlatter had synthesized aspartame in the course of producing an anti-ulcer drug candidate. He discovered its sweet taste serendipitously when he licked his finger, which had accidentally become contaminated with aspartame. Interestingly, that anti-ulcer drug never made it to market because it had too many side and ill effects to pass the FDA requirements as a drug. However, it was sufficiently satisfactory to pass as a food additive. That should tell you something!

Its hard to believe (maybe not) that chemists could be such slobs in the lab. Licking their fingers, smoking, etc.... and ending up discovering these sweeteners by accident.

Xylitol, gram for gram, is roughly as sweet as sucrose, but contains 40% less calories, so it turned out to be good for preventing cavities, but not so good as a calories reducer. It is very popular in Finland, which is considered its "home country". Many Finnish confectioneries employ xylitol, or have a xylitol version available. In Japan, xylitol is found in wide assortment of chewing gums.

[quote="Jörg"]I'd rather have one really good cookie than a box of mediocre cookies. But hey, do what you want. . . .[/quote]

I agree whole heartedly.

People who mentioned that each ingredient has a PURPOSE are absolutely right. You can't go switching ingredients and expect similar results in the kitchen any more than you could if you did that in organic chem lab!

Most american cookies like oatmeal etc can use pnut butter for butter substitute. I'm not so sure I'd really want a butter cookie like a Marie made with it but that's my thing.

I've reached the happy conclusion that making sweets with original ingredients is not the problem...the real problem is that if you only eat one and get lots of exercise...don't need to finish the phrase right?

I honestly don't know what else to tell you besides what people have already said. If you are worried about the cookie being healthy, don't worry any more. With all the baking you have probably been doing trying to make a cookie without sugar and butter you have burned enough calories to enjoy a really good chocolate chip cookie. Or whatever kind you want.